Singapore...Sigh....

From : Aaron Chia
Sent : Friday, July 21, 2006 10:53 PM




In this particular email, I want to discuss why I believe Singapore is headed into a downward spiral. In fact, this is such a controversial and important topic, that, I must let other friends hear this too [OTHERS: I usually send emails to them]

We can see how things are run here. A leader makes decisions, and the group follows blindly. The problem is, NO ONE WANTS TO THINK. Everyone is too lazy, and let the leader make decisions. Twice in our groupwork, everyone followed my instructions and no one objected. It was always at the end when I found out we made a few mistakes and no one pointed it out.

Even in schools, I believe that the school should let the students play a part. Naturally, some people can become councillors by volunteering, however, I think that 75% of the council should be voted in by students, and students should get to vote for the Head.

If you had followed the news, Singapore is the least happy country in Asia. Not surprising really. Our generation has been lost. Being indoctrinated by the culture, we lost track of important things. We do not appreciate the plants in our school, we destroy them. People poison the fish in our school. On our wishlists, come MP3 players, materialistic things, good grades.

Previous generations studied for knowledge, we study for grades. Ask anybody why they study, they tell you its because they want to get a good job and earn a lot of money. Is money really that important? Is following the trend really important? Everyone wants to show off the latest toys they've got. Toys are for playing with friends. At least some people get that.

The rich, they've got everything. When I was in the gifted stream, out of 20 people, only 3 lived in HDB flats. The rich, they've got an advantage. Tuition, books, exposure, everything. They've got parents who have experience. The middle class? They do not aim high. They are happy if they get an ordinary job.

Hey, nothing wrong with that, if you are truly happy, then by all means, go ahead. At least you will be much happier than the rich. Do you really think that Presidents and Prime Ministers are really happy? Do you think they can experience simple pleasures like going for a walk in the park or attending carnivals with their family without bodyguards following? One rich person once told my father, that he would give up everything to be just like him, an university professor. He told my dad that he had a lot of troubles...

Singaporeans follow trends. They forget to think. Some of them read inspirational books and stay enlightened for a while. Then, when stress comes, it stops them cold. They forget everything. Why do you think we are one of the worse cities in terms of courtesy? People rush into trains without waiting for people to get out? Are you one of them?

One of the ministers told my father when my father raised the point that we should let Singaporeans think. The minister said, "Do you really think that we are capable? No, I tell you. Our ancestors could not make a living in their own country, and they were failures, so they left for Singapore. There are only a few capable people trying to run things here. Leave everything to them."

The government had done a marvellous job. They raised the economy so well that we are very advanced in terms of technology. But in ways of thinking? We are still far behind the West in some ways. At this rate, we will be an economically advanced country but a very 'empty' country.

I hope this have at least made you think. I invested half an hour of my life in this. At this point, Jianwei is trying to persuade me to watch a video. At least its music, one of the simple pleasures in life.

Aaron